Anniversary
by BananaPeaceMonkeyKarmi
Summary: It's the one-year-anniversary, and Cloud doesn't remember at all......


Hiyas!! This is BananaPeaceMonkey here with yet another one-shot!!  
Hope yous guys enjoy it!!

* * *

Cloud was sitting on the sofa in the den, watching television. He heard Tifa scrouging around in the kitchen, the back room behind the bar counter. That room also served as the laundry room and waiting area for barrels of alchohol if they weren't outside.

Before he knew it, there was a yelp accompinied by what sounded like glass breaking. He rose fluidly from his seat to see Tifa's head poke out of the room for a minute. "I'm fine!" she yelled at him before disappearing back to where she was. He shrugged, walking over to the doorway just in case. From there his ears caught minor swearing. When he peeked in, there she was, on the floor with the dust-pan and small brush-broom sort of thing--he never actually found out what it was. A redish liquid was sprawled across the floor with big and tiny pieces of shiny glass.

He leaned against the wall. "Sure you don't need any help?" Her head snapped up, a smile upon her face. She nodded, going back to what she was doing. "You don't want me to mop or anything?"

Tifa sighed. "Firstly, Cloud, what do you mop wood with?"

He shrugged again. "I don't know, ammonia?"

She shook her head, laughing. "No!! You can mop it with bleach, but it has to be very diluted, along with some Pine-Sol." Looking around, she nodded. "Yep, that's definantly what this room could use." She finished with the glass, picking up the last huge pieces and placing them on the pan. Tifa walked out of the room, throwing them away in the trash. Suddenly, she dropped the pan, wincing, and holding her arm. Cloud noticed blood seeping down and inbetween her fingers. Then, she collasped onto the floor.

"Tifa?" He walked over to her, holding her gently. Shaking her body slightly, he called her name again. "Tifa? Tifa!" She didn't respond.

Cloud laid her back down. Softly, he picked up her left arm, turning it. There was a large portion of glass in it, but only a small piece of it was sticking out. _No wonder why we didn't see it. How could she not have felt it, though? _He took a firm hold on it, sliding it out of her arm bit by bit. Luckily it wasn't an oddly shaped piece, but retangular. She seemed to have felt it, because a moment later, more winces distorted her features.

"Cloud . . ."

"It's okay Teef. Just be still." She was obedient. Cloud sat there, pulling out the sharp culprit of her pain. It seemed to be extremely long. That was when he noticed the fact that it wasn't in her arm horizontally. In that case, it would be sticking out the other side. Nope, this piece hace lodged itself in vertically.

No wonder why it caused her so much pain.

"Cloud, are you almost done?" He nodded when she looked up at him. "Okay."

Finally, he got all of it out. Tifa's arm began to bleed profusily. He got up, grabbed a cloth from the counter, and sat back down next to her, pressing it against her arm. "You alright?" She nodded. "How did you not know it was there?"

"I did for a minute. It got there when I slipped. See, when I dropped the bottle, that was when I told you I was fine. But then I slipped and slide over a little on my back. That was when it got in there. You distracted me a bit, along with the fact that I was trying to ignore it."

"Teef, if you'd ignored it any longer, then you might've been in a coma." She laughed, stating that he overexaggerated. "Maybe I should for someone like you." She giggled. "I'm serious!"

"I know you are." She smiled at him, lost in his cerelean gaze. They stayed like this for a minute, until Cloud noticed how warm and wet the cloth was becoming. He took it from her arm, grabbing a few bandages from under the sink. Using her right arm, Tifa sat up against the counter while he tied her up. Within minutes, she was just fine, saved for the white and red thing above her elbow. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I would've done it anyway." He helped her up, steadying himself and her. "Maybe you should go lay down."

"Oh, I can't! I have too much to do today! It's very special."

He cocked his head to the side. "What's today?"

She looked bewildered. "You . . . you don't remember?" He shook his head. _I can't believe him. Today's only the one-year anniversary of the Grand Re-opening of Seventh Heaven. _"Oh, well . . ."

"What's today, Teef?"

She stared deep into his eyes for something, an sign that he recalled it. The only problem was, she found nothing. He really didn't remember. "Today . . . is the day that I eat shrimp fried rice for lunch."

He seemed very amused by this. "That's all?" She nodded. "Is there any left?" Her affirmitive notion was in existance once more. "Good, because I'm starving." She said nothing else.

* * *

Barret brought the kids back home later that day while Cloud was gone. They rushed in, nearly toppling Tifa over with showers of hugs and affection.

"Hi Tifa!!" Marlene greeted.

"Hi Mar, Denny. How were you guys?"

"We were good!" Denzel said. "Honest. Barret said we weren't a problem at all. What about you?" He took into account the fact that her arm was bandaged. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

The barmaid shrugged. "It's just a scratch. Hey, why don't you guys go upstairs and put your things away? I'll be down here talking with Barret." The kids left after that.

"What happened?" the man asked when they were gone.

"I dropped a bottle in the back room. Slipped, fell and slid onto a piece of glass. Cloud took it out."

"Where is Spiky anyway?"

"Running errands. That's what he said when he left about an hour ago." She sighed. "He doesn't even remember."

"At all? How does he not remember all the hard work and effort we put into getting this place back on top?"

"I think he might recall all that, just not the exact date I opened back up. That's okay. Marlene does, and she told Denzel already."

"Figured as much." He took a moment to inhale the smell around them. "You're baking a cake for it, too, huh?"

She smiled. "The occasion is that special."

Barret nodded, heading for the door. "Well, tell Marlene that I'll be back soon. Just got to go get a few things. See ya later!"

"Bye!" It was quiet once more.

* * *

When he walked back through the front door, she was frosting the cake. He got supicious.

"Okay, what is today really? You don't usually bake unless it's a special occasion."

"I make muffins for breakfast sometimes."

"That's different." He set down the things in his hands on the counter, going through the bags to make sure everything was there. "Hey, um . . ." She looked up at him with that beautiful smile. "I need to go put this stuff up. Be back in a minute." Cloud disappeared up the stairs.

Tifa had nothing to do.

* * *

It had only been an hour since she'd been asleep. After icing the cake, she was left with nothing else to do. The brunette decided she need a nap.

The only thing was that something seemed out of place. It wasn't noisy or anything, but something seemed . . . unusual.

She stepped out into the hallway with her slippers, cautiously making her way down. It was then that she noticed just how quiet and dark it was. Whe she got to the bottom of the stairs, she heard a shuffling noise. Ready to throw out a punch, she stanced herself.

Her problem was that she wasn't ready for what happened.

Someone grabbed her by the hip and turned her around. Almost as soon after, her lips came in contact with something else. It was warm and soft and fetl so . . . inviting. She noticed it was a kiss. Her only instinct was to kiss back. So, her eyes closed. In the darkness, she couldn't really tell.

Her ears heard the sound of people yelling, "Happy one year anniversary!!"

Tifa opened her eyes and saw that the person kissing her was Cloud Strife. She became extremly embarrased, pulling away. "What's wrong?" he asked her.

"I . . . You . . . Oh!" The next thing everyone knew, she was headed for the back room behind the bar counter.

Tifa sat there, crying, sitting on top of the dryer. She hadn't even noticed that someone had come in until they started to speak.

"Teef. If I'm the reason why you're upset, then I'm really sorry."

She looked up from her hands to see him standing there in front of her--right between her legs.

"What the hell are you doing there?!" She slapped him.

"Tifa! What is your problem?!"

"You are! You didn't even remember, then you have the nerve to kiss me in front of everyone!"

"Isn't that what you wanted, though?" She started at him. He sighed. "Look, I _did _remember. I just pretended I didn't so that you'd be happier when I threw you this party."

"All of this . . . was your idea?"

He walked away from her. "Yeah. That's okay if you don't like it."

She hopped off of the dryer, slamming her body into his. "That's the thing. I like it _so_ much. Thank you Cloud." She reached up, kissing him fuller and harder. He backed the both of them up against the washing machiene, leaning her on it. She moaned, shuddering. He stopped. "Something the matter?" He shook his head. They both noticed the smoldering emotion in each other's eyes. "Listen, Cloud, I need to tell you that I--"

"It's okay. Don't tell me something I already know. Yuffie helped me recognize it long ago."

She nodded, looking away from him. At first, she was discouraged that he knew, that she didn't get to tell him. But it didn't matter. He knew now. "Okay then."

"Want me to tell you something you don't know?"

The expression on her face screamed confusion. "What might that be?"

"The fact that I love you, too."

* * *

Well, the reason why that fic was so crappy was because I am really bored and didn't feel like putting a hundred percent into that.  
It doesn't help that I'm sleepy right now, too.  
The reason why it's the 1-yr-anniversary is because this is right after AC. If you think about it, Seventh Heaven hadn't been open the whole timespan between saving the world and the third coming of Sephiroth.  
Do the math. I did, and I hate math.

But whatever. Tell me what you guys think!


End file.
